Yeasting process.



N0. 638,259. Patented D60. 5, I399.

A. MYERS.

YEASTING PROCESS.

, (Application filed July 8, 1899.) (No Model.)

I WITNESSES: M v 0:

MW g

ANGELO MYERS, OF PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA.

YEASTING PROCESS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 638,259, dated December5, 1899.

Application filed July 8, 1899. Serial No. 728,134. (N0 Specimens) ToaZZ whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, ANGELO MYERS, a citizen of the United States,residing in the city and county of Philadelphia, in the State ofPennsylvania, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inYeasting Processes, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to the production or development of yeast for usein breweries and distilleries.

In the development of yeast in accordance with my invention, two seriesof fermenting vessels, diagrammatically depicted in the accompanyingdrawing, may be employed, one series designated A, B, (l, D, E, etc.,and herein termed fermenters, and another series designated 1, 2, 3, 4,5, etc., of much smaller capacity than the fermenters, and termed donas.

It is customary in the conduct of breweries and distilleries, to make upfor use on each succeeding working day, a fresh batch of yeast, and assome time is required for the production or development of this yeast tosecure the proper quantity, of the desired strength, a number of batchesin difierent stages of development are usually contemporaneously inprogress and so ordered that one batch comes to proper condition for useon each successive working day.

The fermenters are each filled or nearly filled with a selected quantityof grain, usually rye and barley malt in equal proportions. The rye willbe mashed usually at a temperature of about 176 degrees Fah.,immediately cooled down to about 159 degrees Fah. or below and, at thistemperature the malt is put into the rye and the mass stirred. Afterstirring the mass thoroughly it is generally cooled down to atemperature of about 135 degrees, Fah. at which temperature it isallowed to remain for a period of about twenty-four hours, to producesour mash, if desired, and it is then cooled toa temperature of about 70degrees, Fah.

By sour mash is meant the mass after it has been allowed to stand for acertain length of time without the addition of yeast. The lactic germsin the mass produce an acid and are not true ferments. Sour mash, whenfermented with true alcoholic ferments, such as are introduced with thedona, whereof hereinafter, is what is termed a sour yeast.

While each of the fermenters is supplied with grain as stated, andtreated in the manner above described, or in any preferred manner, thesupplying of the grain to the several fermenters, and its treatment inthe manner described,is not carried on on the same day, but one of thefermenters, for instance, the fermenter A, is supplied with grain on,for instance, Tuesday morning, the fermenter B on Wednesday morning, thefermenter O on Thursday morning, the fermenter D on Friday morning, andthe fermenter E on Saturday morning, the sequence of the operationsbeing so ordered that each fermcnter of the series is supplied withgrain at or about the time at which the materials placed in thepreceding fermenter of the series have developed the required quantityof the lactic acid.

Assuming for the sake of illustration merely, that the fermenters are tobe supplied with grain in the order and on the days mentioned, myinvention may be practiced conveniently in the following manner.

On the Monday morning preceding, or a suitable number of hours inadvance of, the Tuesday mentioned, dona No. l is supplied with grainmash, preferably rye and barley malt, combined in the same proportions,subjected to the same temperatures, and treated to the same operation ofstirring, described with reference to the contents of the fermenters,with the result that after the contents of said dona have stood for,say, twenty-four hours, they will constitute on Tuesday morning, whenthe fermenter A is filled, a sour mash.

On Tuesday morning, therefore, about the time fermenter A is-charged orfilled as described, a predetermined quantity of jug yeast isincorporated with the sour mash in dona No. 1, and the contents of saiddona No. 1 thereupon permitted to stand for a period of twenty-fourhours or thereabout, with the result that the contents of said dona willby Wednesday morning be converted into active yeast of the character ofthe jug yeast.

It is the practice in the conduct of large brewery and distilleryoperations to develop the yeast required by any ordinary method, fromsmall quantities kept in storage for the purpose and termed.jug yeast.

The jug yeast, which may be of any selected morphological character, isordinarily made the subject of especial precautionsin its manufactureand storage, tending to maintain its purity and strength, and manyefforts have been made to devise means for providingjug yeast, whateverits variety, of absolutely uniform quality.

In the practice of my present invention, jug yeast corresponding incharacter to the character of the ultimate yeast desired will be, ofcourse, employed.

On Wednesday morning, the contents of dona No. 1 will be yeast, and thecontents of fermenter A will be sour mash. On Wednesday morning I chargeor. fill fermenter B with mashed grain in the manner already described;I fill dona No. 2 with sour mash from fermenter A, and add to said sourmash in dona No. 2 a selected quantityof fresh jug yeast; and Iincorporate with the contents of fermenter A the contents of dona No. 1.

The materials in the fermenter A will, in the progress of'time, be actedupon and converted into yeast of the character contained in dona No. 1,which was, of course, of the character of the jug yeast, and, at theappointed time, the contents of said fermenter No. 1 will be employed asyeast for the fermentation of a mass of grain or mash in the largeroperations of the brewery or distillery.

On Thursday morning the contents of fermenter B will be sour mash andthe contents of dona No. 2 will be yeast.

I thereupon supply fermenter C with grain in the manner described, andsupply dona No. 3 with sour mash from fermenter B, and set said dona No.3 with a selected quantity of jug yeast, and thereupon allow saidfermenter O and dona No. 3 to stand for a period of twenty-four hours.On said Thursday morning also I supply to the fermenter B, the contentsof dona No. 2,

and thereupon allow the combined mass to stand for the required numberof hours or days to be in readiness for use after the contents offermenter A are used in the brewery or distillery.

On Friday morning the contents of fermenterO will be sour mash and thecontents of dona No. 3 will be yeast similar to the jug yeast. On saidmorning I charge fermenter D with grain in the manner described, andsupply dona No. t with sour mash from fermenter O and set it with jugyeast. I add to the contents of fermenter O the yeast in dona No. 3, andput it aside to stand for the required number of hours or days, to beused after the contents of fermenter B are used.

On Saturday morning the contents of fermenter D will be sour mash, andthe contents of dona No. 4 will be yeast. On said morning I supply donaNo. 5 with sour mash from fermenter D, and set it with the requiredquantity of jug yeast, and I combine the contents of dona No. 4 with thecontents of fermenter D.

The operations described are repeated on each successive day, (or morefrequently or less frequently as desired,) a fermenter being each timesupplied with grain mash of the desired character, mashed in thepreferred manner, and at the desired temperatures. Each day I set aparta portion of sour mash from the fermenter supplied with grain mash thepreceding day, and set said sour mash with jug yeast,and each dayIcombine with the sour mash contained 'in the fermenter which was chargedwith grain the preceding day, yeast resulting from the admixture of jugyeast with sour mash, and which have stood for a period of about a day.

In the practice of my invention the operations described may be repeatedwith any desired frequency compatible with securing the resultdescribed.

It is to be understood that instead of employing the number offermenters illustrated or a greater number, a smaller number of thesecontainers may be employed. In setting the contents of a fermenter withthe yeast of a dona, the materials may be of course permitted to standin the fermenter until actually used in the brewery or distillery, orthey may be removed from the fermenter immediately and allowed to standin a separate vessel until. used, thus allowing the fermenter to receivea second charge of fresh mashed grain as soon as its first charge hasbeen treated and removed.

So also the operation may be carried on with but one don'a, which willbe each day filled with sour mash from a fermenter, immediately set withjug yeast, the next morning emptied into the appropriate fermenter, andimmediately refilled with sour mash and reset with jug yeast and so on.

I have, however, illustrated and referred to the series of fermentersand jugs described for the purpose of simplifying the description of theoperation.

The grain employed in the fermenters A, B, C, etc., will be about twopounds to each bushel mashed in the distillery or brewery,- the donaseach contain about three pounds of grain to each bushel of grain in thefermenters A, B, C, etc., and jug yeast in about the proportion of threegallons to each thousand bushels of grain mashed in the brewery ordistillery.

' It will from a consideration of the steps or operations described beunderstood that the mashed grain with which each fermenter is charged insuccession is allowed to stand for a usual period, as for instance,twenty-four hours, to become soured, and that each such lot or charge ofmashed grain is, after having become soured, divided into two portions(which may be conveniently referred to as the first and secondportions.)

The first portion of each such lot is set with jug yeast to betransformed into yeast of the character of said jug yeast, to be addedto the second portion of the next succeeding lot of soured mash,and thatthe second portion of each lot is set with yeast already produced as aresult of combining jug yeast with the first portion of the precedinglot of soured mash, said second portion being thereupon allowed to standuntil in readiness for use in operations of yeasting in brewery ordistillery work.

By my invention there will be produced for use in successive brewery anddistillery operations, batches of yeast of definite and uniformstrength, one of the purposes of my invention being to prevent thedegeneration of the plant or yeast used, and I am able by the practicedescribed to secure for the conduct of brewery or distillery yeastingoperations, yeast uniform with the jug yeast selected, and the strengthand purity of which have been subjected to the minimum of degeneration.

Having thus described my invention, I claim The process of preparing aseries of batches of yeast of uniform quality for use serzott'm uponsuccessive days in brewery or distillery yeastin g operations,whichconsists in mashing in suitable fermenters upon successive days orrecurring periods selected lots or quantities of suitable grain,allowingeach to stand for a predetermined period after mashing, at a suitabletemperature, to develop lactic acid or become s0ur,-dividing eachsuccessive lot after it has become sour into two portions, Viz. firstand second,-set ting the first portion of each such lot with jug yeastand allowing it to stand to be converted by said jug yeast into yeast ofthe character of said j u g yeast,to be added to one portion of the nextsucceeding lot of sour mash,setting the other or second portion withyeast theretofore produced as a result of combining the first portion ofthe preceding lot of sour mash with jug yeast,- and allowing said secondportion to stand until in readiness for use in final operations ofyeasting in brewery or distillery operations, as specified.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my invention I have hereuntosigned my name this 30th day of June, A. D. 1899.

ANGELO MYERS.

In presence of G. A. SOHWAB, THOS. K. LANCASTER.

